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A controversy erupted when it became known that Bank of America would allow people without social security numbers to apply for a credit card. There have been strong reactions to this news, with many people seeing it as an endorsement for illegal immigration. Some are closing their accounts in protest. This is currently a pilot program with 51 banks in the Los Angeles area, but it's expected to roll out on a national basis sometime this year. Customers would have to have a Bank of America account for at least three months, without any overdrafts, before they can apply. Unsurprisingly, there are a variety of opinions about this in the blogosphere.
But first, an explanation from the Los Angeles Times:
The credit cards are not aimed specifically at illegal immigrants, a bank spokeswoman said, but instead people who lack solid credit histories.
The bank's program may be controversial, but it also vividly demonstrates that businesses view the country's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants not as lawbreakers but as customers.
They point out that Bank of America isn't the first corporation to offer products and services to people without social security numbers.
Other major banks including Wells Fargo & Co. and Citibank have launched similar initiatives to gain customers in the burgeoning Latino community. Wells Fargo began a pilot program last year in Los Angeles and Orange counties to offer home mortgages to immigrants who have lived in the United States for at least two years. The customers are allowed to identify themselves using taxpayer numbers issued by the Internal Revenue Service.
Marisa, a supporter, says this is another way in which immigrants will be helping our economy, not hurting it.
[T]his bank sees a viable business opportunity with people, regardless of their citizenship, who still spend money—thus adding to our economy.
It wasn't that long ago that the national pizza chain, Pizza Patron, made headlines because they announced they would accept pesos from their customers in payment for pizzas.
If there really was concern about illegal immigrants costing the U.S. money, then one would think that more effort would be made to tap into this group's spending power and labor potential.
Deb is another supporter:
What is clear from this move is that the banking industry sees the Latino community as potential customers and people who should be integrated into the financial mainstream of American society, regardless of their status as residents of the U.S. The question is, can the rest of the nation follow their lead?
The Weary Consumer is worried about possible repercussions:
What I don't understand is how Bank of America can get it away with that…I work in a bank, and this would clearly violate the Patriot Act. One of the stipulations of the Patriot Act is you have to know your customer. You have to have ID, you have to know where that person lives, you have to have a general idea of where the person's money is coming from, and you have to have strategies in place to prevent money laundering, etc.
And who's going to end up paying for all those defaults on the credit cards? The Bank of America customers who pay their bills like me and you.
Carolyn feels this is the wrong move. She canceled her Bank of America credit card and made sure to tell them why.
Personally I am outraged that any American company would do what Bank of America is doing, and that they can continue to do this without any legal repercussions. This amounts to allowing them to discriminate against legal American citizens in the offering of credit, by giving illegals much easier rules to qualify for these credit cards than are required of legitimate residents.
Sugarplum doesn't like the idea, either:
...do not cancel accounts quietly. If you are going to cancel an account (which I encourage), do so in the branch office, explaining that you do not want them funding illegal immigrant purchases…Also, the Bank of America lets their customers wire $3000 to Mexico EACH MONTH, free of charge.
Jan is opposed to it, too, but it's because she sees this move as a form of immigrant exploitation. (Applicants will have to pay a higher-than-normal interest rate in order to have a card.)
I simply think it's immoral. If laboring under high-interest debt—where the interest accrues in larger amounts than the minimum payment—isn't modern-day slavery, I don't know what is. BofA is aiming specifically for those people who, because they are undocumented, are already most likely to be taken advantage of—paid
